Withholding Nutrition & Visits

It’s incredulous to think that in the 21st-century, hospitals are withholding nutrition and refusing family members to visit their loved ones in the hospital, yet here we are. Below are steps you can take to fight your way into the hospital to see if your family member is getting the proper care they need.

A Patient’s Bill of Rights can help you get your loved adequate care and allow you access to oversee their care. USE IT if it provides you redress.

If you are in a position where the hospital is neglectful, such as not allowing loved ones to visit or withholding adequate nutrition, contacting the local police can prove effective.

Withholding Nutrition & Visits
  • The healthcare proxy or other loved one can contact the local police department and request a “health and safety welfare check” under the circumstances that the patient is being denied access to loved ones and there have been reports of neglect.
  • By law, the hospital can be held to false imprisonment or medical battery depending on law enforcement’s circumstances and cooperation.
  • The hospital will likely fight the request, but if you are persistent, many will succumb, and they will be held to ensuring that the distressed patient and loved ones are reunited.
  • Refer to the Patient’s Rights as supplied by the hospital (these are typically required to be posted in a conspicuous place and provided to patients upon admission) as well as holding them accountable to “respectful, effective and non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory care.”
  • Make sure to FILE A COMPLAINT against the hospital with all the relevant committees regarding your situation to help further hold the hospital accountable for their mistreatment.